Garment-holder.



UNITED srAr srArnNr omens.

BENJAMIN .I. BUCKINGHAM, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO BUOKINGHAM-RAE COM- PANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

GARMENT-HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 23, 1909.

Application filed March 23, 1908. Serial No. 422,680.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it lcnown that I, BENJAMIN J. BUcK- INGHAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Im rovement in Garment-Holders, of which t e following is a specification.

My invention relates to garment holders and has for itsobject to provide a garment holder suitable for a plication to and rotation about a fixed co umn. Columns are of different sizes and my invention is capable of application in a device whichfor the most part is suitable'for use on columns of various sizes. By making the device of a pro er gen eral size,its principal parts are capab e of use with any ordinary cohimn and that portion which has to be fitted to each column is simple and easily made and applied.

One form of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein- Figure 1 is a plan view, Fig. 2 a cross section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the two part hollow encircling rmg. r Like parts are indicated by the same char acter in all the figures.

A is the post about which is fixed a ring composed of the two parts B B. The two ends of these two parts areprovided with projecting lips and are adapted to be drawn together to complete the ring and tighten it 011 the post by means of the bolts B B Projecting from each of these half ring pieces B is a lug B with the bolt B Arms B B are secured to such ring by attachment between the lips and to the lug by means ofthe respective bolts B B These arms, of course, are more or less loose so that they can assume any angle of inclination, though when the device is set in osition as hereinbefore explained, the severa bolts may be, and perhaps preferably should be, securely drawn 1nto position. The arms B are preferably in the shape of elbow crank levers each pivotally secured at B to a ring section C. There are two of these sections provided at their ends with lugs O O with a ball bearing groove G into which the balls O lie. Each ring section also has an inwardly projecting lip C The upper end of the elbow crank lever B may be provided with an enlargement B which is adapted to receive a screw-threaded rod 13, the outer end of which is shaped as desired and is adapted to impinge upon the surface of the column above the hoop B B.

D D are the two sections of a channel bar preferably provided ontheir insides and at the bottom with the raised ribs D D and slotted in their outer edges by the slots D D is a cover on each of these channel ring sections held in position by the bolts D D Lying across the channel ring sections and upon the ribs D are the outer spring fingers E and the inner spring fingers E They are all held together at their inner ends where they are perforated by'a wire E and they are held in position farther out by being inserted in the slots D When they are thus put in position they areheld by the cover D At each end of each of these channel ring sections is a rigid finger section F. They are positioned and shaped so that when the two rings are brought together their outer outwardly curved ends will abut each other so as to form a finger approximating in size and shape the outer spring fingers. When the parts are assembled the whole device is rigidly mounted on the post but the channel ring from which the spring fingers project is capable of rotating freely around the post, for the balls O arereceived into the groove G in the bottom of the channel ring. To keep this channel ring from rising or becoming displaced, I provide a series of lugs G on the bottom and through them I pass a series of set screws G which are adapted to take under the lip 0*.

Of course it will be understood that these parts are capable of great variation in size, shape, form and arrangement and that my drawing is to be considered as in I an important sense diagrammatic or intended only to illustrate one form of device in which my invention is disclosed, though, of course,

some of these features could be omitted and others varied without departing from the spirit of my invention.

The use and operation of my invention are as follows: These articles will be manufactured at some central distributing point, and

they are intended to be sold for use at widely scattered points, and in cities of various sizes, and thus for use under various conditions. Experience shows that there is a wide variation in the size of columns, and it is desirable to have a garment rack'or holder for skirts, trousers and the like which can be applied to these posts. Since the posts are of different diameters it is desirable to have a rack which is applicable to any of them with the least possible variation so that the racks can be made in quantity and carried in stock and can be, with the least possible difficulty, varied to suit articular conditions. The channel ring or 'nger holding ring is made With a center aperture of suflicient diameter to encircle the thickest column ordinarily found. The support for this ring must bear upon the column at two points, at one of these points it must encircle the column, at the other it need only impinge upon the column. The supporting device, therefore, must contain one element which will be varied in size to suit the several columns, whereas the other element needs only to be adjustable. My support, therefore, for the finger-holding ring embraces two elements or principles one adapted to clasp the column, the other to abut the column. The latter is adjustable as to length. When the ring or hoop is clamped upon the column, its arms may fall into any position. They are, however, preferably directed upwardly and outwardly as indicated and secured to the two sections of the ball-bearing ring, which sections are bolted together so as to make another hoop or ring about the post. This ring, of course, would tilt in either direction were it not for the fact that the distance between it and the post is bridged in say four different places by adjustable arms. When the adjustment has been made, the ballbearing ring will be properly centered about the axis of the column, and will be securely and rigidly held in position. The two sections of the finger holding ring are then placed upon it, and on the balls. They are bolted together and the set screws are manipulated so as to hold the parts together. Now it is obvious that all of these parts are interchangeable, and uniform, and, therefore can be prepared anywhere and assembled anywhere else, except the hoop which clasps the column. This must be made to fit the 55 particular column within reasonable limits, but this is a perfectly simple structure which o can be either furnished on order by the manufacturer, or made on the ground by any metal worker out of ordinary metal strips.

Skirts and trousers can be inserted between the spring fingers until the rack be fully loaded, whereupon it can be rotated by a customer or clerk with great ease about the column, so that all the goods can be easily brought before the customer or to the light and can be inspected with ease and satisfaction. The balls maybe spaced or supported in their respective grooves in any desired manner.

I claim:

1. A garment holder, comprising a sectional column clasping hoop, a series of arms thereon, on the outer ends of the arms a se ries of inner projections toward the column, a larger column encircling hoop supported on the outer ends of said arms, and a garment holding ring mounted on the larger hoop.

2. A garment holder, comprising a sectional column clasping hoop, a series of elbow crank lever arms thereon, secured at one end to the hoop, and adapted at the other end to engage the column, a larger column encircling hoop supported on said arms, and a garment holding ring mounted on the larger hoop.

3. A garment holder, comprising a column clasping hoop, a larger column encircling hoop, arms attached to the former, and adapted to hold the latter, means for centering the encircling hoop about the column, a garment holding ring mounted on the larger hoop, and ball-bearing supports between the larger hoop and the ring.

4. A garment holder, com arising a column clasping hoop, a larger co umn encircling hoop, arms attached to the former, and adapted to hold the latter, means for centering the encircling hoop about the column, and a garment holding ring mounted on the larger hoop, said garment holding ring comprising sections whose abutting ends are pro vided with rigid garment holding fingers and elastic garment holding fingers intermediate such ends.

5. A garment holder, comprising a column clasping hoop, a larger column encircling hoop, arms attached to the former, and. adapted to hold the latter, means for centering the encircling hoop about the column, and a garment holding ring supported on the encircling hoop and comprising sections whose abutting ends are provided with rigid garment holding fingers and elastic garment holding fingers intermediate such ends, and a cover over such ring and lingers to hold the latter in position.

6. A garment holder, comprising a column clasping hoop, a larger column encircling hoop, arms attached to the former, andv adapted to hold the latter, means for centering the encircling hoop about the column, a garment holdingning mounted on the larger hoop, and interlocking means to prevent the ring from being displaced from the larger hoop.

7. A garment holder, comprising a column clasping hoop, a larger column encircling part and a movable interlocking device on hoop, arms attached to the former, and the other. adapted to hold the latter, means for centering the encircling hoop about the column; a BENJAMIN BUCKINGHAM' 5 garment holding ring mounted on the larger Witnesses:

hoop and means for holding such ring and SOPHIE B. WERNER,

hoop together, consisting of a flange on one I MINNIE M. LINDENAN; 

